Clarification on USB-C Power Delivery for AMD Radeon RX 7900 Series Graphics Cards
Recent reports suggested that the latest AMD Software Adrenalin 25.10.2 WHQL drivers disabled USB-C power delivery on reference Radeon RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT graphics cards. However, AMD has since clarified that this information was incorrect, and the USB-C power delivery functionality remains fully operational on these GPUs.
USB-C Power Delivery on Radeon RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT
The reference models of the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT, designed and manufactured by AMD, are equipped with USB Type-C ports. These ports support DisplayPort 2.1 passthrough and provide USB Power Delivery (PD) up to the PD 3.0 standard, delivering up to 30 watts of power. While these USB-C ports do not support data transfer, they are specifically wired for both DisplayPort output and power delivery. This design enables users to connect compatible monitors that utilize a single USB-C cable for both display and power needs.
Testing USB-C Power Output
To verify the continued functionality of USB-C power delivery, we conducted tests using a reference Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card. With a USB-C power meter, we measured a consistent power output of 27 watts from the port. Notably, this power delivery capability is available even without any driver installed, demonstrating that the feature is hardware-based and not dependent on software updates.
Further testing involved charging a laptop with a depleted battery using the GPU’s USB-C port. Even under heavy load, such as running the Furmark stress test, the port maintained stable power delivery, confirming reliable performance for charging devices while the graphics card is in use.
AMD’s Official Statement
AMD has addressed the confusion, stating that the release notes for the Adrenalin Edition 25.10.2 driver initially included an incorrect line regarding USB-C functionality. This error has since been corrected, and there are no changes to USB-C power delivery on the RX 7900 series GPUs in the latest driver release. AMD has updated the release notes to reflect this and apologized for any inconvenience caused by the misinformation.
In summary, users of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT reference graphics cards can continue to rely on USB-C power delivery for compatible devices, with no impact from the recent driver update.
